Few public golf courses in the Indianapolis area carry the kind of layered history that The Fort does. Built on the grounds of the former Fort Benjamin Harrison military base on the city's northeast side, the course winds through land that served the U.S. Army for nearly a century before being decommissioned in the early 1990s. That heritage is woven into the experience — the surrounding Fort Harrison State Park preserves the old-growth hardwoods and open terrain that give the layout a character you simply don't manufacture from scratch.
Pete Dye designed the course, which opened in 1993 as the base transitioned to civilian use, and his fingerprints are unmistakable: dramatic shaping, forced carries, and greens that reward precision over brute force. For a public-access facility in central Indiana, the design ambition is notably high.
Indianapolis golfers have long treated The Fort as one of the better municipal-style options in the region — a serious test on a piece of ground with genuine soul, well above the everyday average.
